Once Over Again
by ravinraven12
Summary: AU story of time line.  There is no prophecy, all Marauder's are alive, the Order is holed up at Hogwarts and they are forming an army to fight against the very alive Voldemort.  Eventually DM/HP means M/M.  Better summary in the first chapter.
1. Chapter 1

Ok, so this is totally AU, as in there was never any prophecy, Lilly is dead, killed on Oct. 31 like in the original, but Jame lived as he was away from the house because they were not in hiding. Harry survived because before the Death Eaters, who were after the Potter's could reach them, they were stopped members of the Order. From there the war has escalated to the point that it has spread into the Muggle world. James and the Order of the Phoenix have holed up in Hogwarts, the Marauder's are alive, including Peter, but he is still Voldemort's pet. They use Hogwarts as a refuge as well, taking in Muggle born and half Muggles to try to keep them safe and James trains people like an army. Draco is two years older than Harry, Hermione and Ron and this will eventually be a Harry/Draco story. This is the first of two or three stories, I haven't decided yet. Anyway, let me know what you think please. Thanks!

* * *

James stood above the open grave as the casket was lowered slowly into the ground, the body of his wife being laid to rest for the final time. Looking down at his son in his arms, he bit back the tears that threatened to fall, needing to be strong for his son, the only remaining member of his family. Pulling the one year old closer to him, he rocked him back and forth, trying to calm him as he started to fuss.

"Here, let me," a quiet voice said from his left and he turned slightly to see Molly Weasley standing there, holding out her arms in invitation and James hugged him once more handing his son to the woman.

"Thank you," he said quietly and she smiled before taking Harry before pulling a bottle out of a bag at her feet and handing it to the boy, cooing at him as she walked towards the waiting carriages, leaving James alone at the side of the grave. Taking a rose out of one of the wreath's, James bent down and placed the rose on top of the casket.

"I promise that we'll get him, Lilly," he said quietly, finally letting the tears fall, knowing no one was around to see them before wiping his face, standing and turning to join the others.

* * *

Fifteen Years Later

A lone figure approached the castle slowly, limping heavily on it's left leg, its right arm griping the left as it stumbled, falling to its knees. In moments the figure was surrounded, wands of those surrounding the figure pointed at what turned out to be a young man.

"It's Draco Malfoy," a voice said in shock and the others started down at the young man who was now unconscious and the grips on their wands tightened.

"Let us get him inside," the voice of an older wizard said and all turned to him.

"Albus, you know who this boy is," an elderly witch said, "you know who his father is."

"Of course Minerva," the elderly wizard replied, "but do not let the sins of the father condemn the son." With that Albus cast a spell that lifted the body of Draco Malfoy into the castle

* * *

Voices started to penetrate the fog surrounding Draco's mind and he tried to open his eyes but decided against it when light stabbed into his eyes. Sighing quietly, he decided to just listen.

"I don't like it Albus," a voice said, his voice hard and angry.

"His mother sent him to us, begging for our protection," a voice replied.

"Yes, but his mother is Narcissa Malfoy," a woman's voice this time.

"And she would not have sent him to us if they were not in trouble."

"And you trust her?" the first voice asked and Draco felt anger.

"She was my inside once Severus was discovered," the second voice said, his voice quiet, and Draco felt tears prickle at the memory of the mentioned man.

"I never trusted him either," the first voice said.

"James," the man known as Albus said, sounding somewhat annoyed, "I trust them with my life."

"Well where is Narcissa?" the woman asked, the question was met with silence, one Draco thought he should break, let them know he was awake.

"Dead," Draco said before anyone could respond and the four people talking at the end of the bed turned. There was an old man with a long white hair and beard who smiled at him, an older man, about the age of his own father, with black unruly hair and hard, blue eyes framed by thick glasses. Beside them stood a plump motherly woman with red hair and kind eyes, the man was tall, and also had red hair.

"Ah, you're awake," the old man said, sounding more enthusiastic than Draco thought was necessary.

"It would seem so," Draco said, trying to sit up, but found himself immobile.

"I'm sorry my boy," Albus said, "until we know you're not here to hurt anyone, you'll need to stay here."

"I'm not here to hurt anyone," Draco said, not looking away from the older man's eyes.

"How do we know that?" the black haired man asked, glaring fiercely at him.

"Trust me," Draco said simply and the man scoffed.

"Not in a million years."

"I was wondering, young Malfoy," Albus said, stroking his beard while contemplating the young man on the bed, "would you be willing to be put under Veritaserum?" Draco blinked in surprise, thinking over what that would mean.

"We can't guarantee that it will work," the man said again.

"James," Albus said, laying a placating hand on the man's arm which James shrugged off.

"And what if he has an immunity to the serum?" James asked.

"No one has been known to have an immunity to it, I find it highly unlikely that Draco does," Albus replied.

"He is a Malfoy, who knows what he can do," the redheaded man spoke up finally.

"I thank you for the compliment," Draco interrupted when James opened his mouth, "but I do not possess the extraordinary ability to lie under Veritaserum." The four older people turned to him, Albus's eyes were twinkling, James glared and the two redheads blushed a bit. "If you want I'll give you my memories as well." The others looked at each other. "You _do _have a working Pensieve, right?"

"Of course we do," Albus said, still smiling.

"Then why not use it?"

"Because we don't have room in it for snakes," James snapped and Draco decided that he really did not like the man.

"If you have a problem with me, I'll gladly be on my way."

"So what, you can go back to your master and tell him where we are?" James shot back and Draco laughed, regretting it immediately as his ribs twinged in pain.

"Just what is so funny?" the woman asked and Draco lay panting for a long moment, trying to regain his breath.

"Do you honestly think that He doesn't know where you are?" he asked. The four adults looked startled at the question.

"How does he know?" James asked, his voice low. Draco looked back and forth between them, trying to determine if they were serious, and was shocked to find they were.

"You really think that hiding out at Hogwarts wouldn't go unnoticed?" he asked incredulously.

"Or maybe you led them here," James accused and Draco rolled his eyes.

"My mother sent me here to ask for protection, that is the only way I got past your wards, they would not have been able to follow me."

"We'll see," James said, turning on his heel and leaving the two redheads following.

"Don't worry my boy," Albus said, patting him on the shoulder, "we'll figure it out," and with that, he too left, leaving the young man alone.

* * *

Draco was sitting on the bed, they had let him move a little bit, being able to move around the bed in a ten foot radius and was allowed to use the bathroom, but only under supervision. In front of him stood Albus Dumbledore, James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, James was holding a goblet.

"Drink this," he said, thrusting the goblet at Draco and the younger man just looked at it and quirked an eyebrow at James.

"What no lemon twist?" he snarked and James' eyes narrowed further.

"You said you would do this," Sirius said, crossing his arms and glaring down at him and Draco smirked.

"Yes I did, but I never said I would make it easy, dear cousin," he said and Sirus's eyes widened.

"You know who I am?" he asked and Draco looked at him as if he were soft in the head.

"You five are on His 'top ten curse on sight' list, everyone knows who you are."

"Everyone as in Death Eater's?" James said and Draco shook his head.

"Yes, 'everyone as in Death Eater's'," he said mockingly and watched as James' hands twitched as if he were itching to reach for his wand but Albus stepped forward and placed a hand on his arm.

"Draco, please stop provoking them," he said, looking at the younger man, though his eyes showed mirth at their conversation.

"Alright, for now," he said, holding out his hand and the goblet was thrust into it, spilling some over the side. Draco's eyes met James' as he put the goblet to his lips and drank all that was in the cup, the brew was warm, with a slight tang of something sour that left a slight after taste.

"All right, we'll start off easy," James said, folding his arms as Remus took the goblet back and placed it on the table next to the bed, "what is your name?" Draco gave him a dirty look and opened his mouth, hating how the serum made him want to answer.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy," he replied and James nodded and Dumbledore smiled at him.

"Who are your parent's?" James asked again, gaining another glare from the young man.

"Lucius Abraxus Malfoy and Narcissa Malfoy ne Black."

"Why are you here?" he asked and Draco paused for a long moment, not wanting to answer this question but found that he could not refuse to answer like wanted.

"My mother," he said and paused for a moment, taking a deep breath, "was found as a spy," he said, shooting a look at Dumbldore who was now frowning, "and we tried to escape," here, again, he paused, "she was killed but not before handing me her pendant which brought me here."

"Are you here as a spy for Voldemort?" he asked and Draco noticed how the others flinched at the name.

"No," he said simply and James frowned as if disappointed with the answer.

"Do you have any intention of hurting anyone that resides here in this castle?" Dumbledore spoke up and Draco smirked at him.

"No."

"Will you swear that you will not hurt anyone that resides here?" James asked and Draco fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"Yes."

"Will you tell us where Voldemort is?" Sirius asked and Draco blinked at the man.

"No," he said and the adults around him paused.

"Why?" James asked.

"Because I'm quite sure that he is already gone, I can't tell you what I don't know."

"How often does he move?" Remus asked.

"About every two months, he's a paranoid bastard."

"Where was he last?" Sirius asked.

"Ireland," Draco said tiredly.

"You have no idea where he was going next?" Dumbledore asked.

"He didn't broadcast his plans, he would hand out the portkeys the day we left, very few knew beforehand, if any at all."

"Where is your father?" James asked and Draco clamped his lips together, tears filling his eyes.

"He's dead," he said quietly.

"When, how?" Dumbldore asked, seeming shocked.

"Six month's ago, protecting my mother from the insane son of a bitch when he found out she was a spy for the Order," he said, glaring up at James Potter as if it were his fault.

"They knew for six months?" Remus asked, shocked.

"Yes and they tortured her every day, looking for information, but my family is known for our stubbornness," Draco said quietly, looking past the adults to glare at the wall.

"Where did our information come from?" Dumbledore asked, he had been receiving information from someone for the last six months.

"Me," Draco said, looking up at the older man. This information came as a shock to the adults and they were quiet for a long moment.

"How did you end up here?" Remus asked several minutes later and Draco turned his head to look at the werewolf.

"My mother was almost dead, nearly mad and I couldn't watch them torture her for another day, so I decided to get her out of there. The problem was that Peter Pettigrew somehow expected as much and set the Death Eater's on us. My mother forced her pendant on me and activated it, it brought me here. End of story," he said quietly, his eyes trained on the ground.

"Pettigrew," James snarled and Draco looked up in surprise and saw that the three men looked angry.

"You know him," it wasn't a question.

"We're very familiar with him," Sirius replied through clenched teeth.

"I think that's enough for now," Dumbledore said, noticing Draco's drooping eyelids that he tried to hide. "Will you be willing to answer a few more questions later if we need?" he asked Draco.

"Of course, maybe without the serum?" he asked, smirking.

"We'll see," James said turning on his heel to leave the hospital wing.

"Can I leave this room at least?" Draco called after him and the other man stopped without turning.

"He does not have his wand, James," Dumbledore pointed out and Draco couldn't help but feel grateful for the man.

"He messes up once, he's in the dungeons," James said finally before leaving the room, the other three men following. Dumbledore turned and smiled at Draco before waiving his wand and Draco felt the oppressing weight of the spell keeping him in place dispel.

"Thank you," he said, standing and stretching.

"I've had rooms set up for you," Dumbledore said, leading the way out of the hospital room.

"Great," Draco said, keeping his eyes forward, trying to ignore the stares as he passed people that was walking through the halls.

* * *

There you go, let me know what you think please.


	2. Chapter 2

OK, I forgot to put the disclaimer at the beginning, so here goes:

I do not own Harry Potter and it's world/characters and I am making no money off of this.

* * *

He knew they were trying to be subtle, but Draco was no fool and recognized he was being followed, almost immediately by someone or other, trying to be discreet as they could. He had been given leave to roam the castle, reluctantly by James, as long as he didn't make trouble and stayed out of everyone's way. He had spent the last week trying to memorize the castle, most of his wandering taking place at night, as he didn't sleep much.

Today, a week after he had arrived, his wandering led him down to the Quidditch pitch, or what used to be the Quidditch pitch anyway.

He had had heard stories about the pitch, the games won and lost there, how Hogwarts had been famous for its house rivalries, especially in the game. But now, as he looked around, he didn't see a field built for the game, but a field built for training an army.

The goal posts on either end still stood, but were rusting, standing as if a reminder of easier times, as if waiting for the next game to start. There was only one set of stands left on the far side off the field, and that was the, only things left of the former pitch. In the middle of the pitch now stood people, flinging spells at each other, and at dummies in preparation for the fight. Above him people on brooms zoomed in and out in complicated looking maneuver and deciding that his still healing body needed a rest, he sat down under a large willow to watch.

Several minutes later, a head of dark unruly hair caught his attention, and thinking it was James, he turned, but found a younger man leaving the pitch, with the same hair as James, but much younger. Draco turned so he could get a better look and decided that this must be Harry Potter, James' son. As if he felt Draco's eyes on him, the younger male looked his way, training green eyes, granted by glasses on him. Draco nodded in greeting, seeming to startle the other boy who flushed abs turned away. Grinning, Draco looked at Harry's companions and smirked; there was a redheaded boy that probably belonged to the Weasley's who was glaring at him, and a bushy haired girl that was looking at him curiously, both following Harry quickly as he left.

Climbing to his feet, a bit unsteadily, he started making his way back to the castle for lunch. Draco sat at the small table that had been provided for him, alone, something he was grateful for, watching those around him, wondering at their almost carefree attitude, as if a war wasn't going on outside. There were so many people at the castle that they took meals in three shifts, Draco was stuck on the third and was surprised to see Harry and his two friends there as well.

"You're Draco Malfoy, right?" a voice asked, bringing him out of his thoughts and looking into the eyes of the younger Potter's female companion.

"Last I checked," he replied, glancing behind her to see Harry and the redhead standing there, the redhead looking nervous, Harry looking bored.

"You're a Death Eater, right?" the girl asked and Draco cocked an eyebrow at her as she sat down across from him. He looked up when he heard a hissed "Moine!" from the redhead.

"'Moine', is it?" he asked her.

"Actually, it's Hermione," she replied, shooting the two boys looks that had them also sitting down. "This is Ronald Weasley," she said pointing to the redhead, "and that's Harry." Draco nodded to both, his eyes lingering on the second boy.

"So you're really a Death Eater?" Hermione asked again, bringing his attention back to her.

"Well if not, this tattoo was a bad idea," he said, lifting the sleeve of, his shirt to reveal his Dark Mark. He almost laughed when Ron recoiled, but was surprised when Harry did nothing but look at it.

"Fascinating," his attention was brought back to Hermione when she took his arm in her hands and pulled it closer, making him lean across the table. "I've never seen a real one," she, said turning his arm this way and that, trying to get a better look. "Can you feel it when it moves like that?" she asked as she watched the snake move around in the skull.

"Sometimes, mostly though if he's summoning us," Draco said shrugging, wondering about this girl, wondering if she were brave, curious or just dumb.

"She's just a curios person," a voice said from his right as the girl continued to stare at his arm, and he turned to look at Harry.

"I can see that," Draco replied and sat back as Hermione let go of his arm.

"So what is he like?" she asked, the older boy looked at her, his head cocked in question. "Voldemort," she said simply and Ron's eyes nearly fell out of his head and even Harry looked surprised.

"I'm not sitting here and listening anymore," Ron said, standing, "are you guys coming?" He didn't wait for an answer before turning and leaving, Harry got up and left as well, shrugging at both Draco and Hermione.

"You know," Hermione said standing also, "half of what I say is to just get a rise out of him, its just too easy," she said grinning at Draco, one that he returned. "It was nice to meet you Draco," she said before following the other two. Draco sat back and smiled, he liked Hermione.

* * *

From that point on, he found that he had a constant companion in the bushy haired girl and sometimes her male counterparts. He could tell that Ron was extremely uncomfortable when he followed the girl to his table, Harry never said much and didn't seem to care either way.

By the third week of staying at the castle, he had mapped out almost all of the ancient building but had yet to find the dungeons and so he decided to ask Hermione the next day.

"Hermione?" he asked as they walked through the main doors leading to the great hall for breakfast, Hermione's nose buried in a book.

"Hmm?" she replied, not even looking up and Draco smiled, he had grown fond of the younger girl and her search for knowledge.

"Do you know where the dungeons are?" he asked as they sat and he watched as food appeared on the table and he reached for the pumpkin juice.

"What do you mean?" she asked, finally putting the book aside to reach for a cinnamon roll.

"I've explored every where I can find, I just haven't seemed to find my way to the dungeons." Hermione blinked, cinnamon roll half way to her mouth before taking a quick bite.

"They're in the north side of the castle, there's a large staircase down," she said and smiled at Harry as he joined them, "morning."

"Morning," Harry said, yawning and grabbing for the potatoes.

"What are you looking for the dungeon's for?" Hermione asked.

"I just haven't been there, and Potter did threaten to lock me down there if I screwed up," Draco replied and Harry looked up at that.

"Oh, he's just a big softy," Hermione said, waving her hand, dismissing the comment and Draco snorted.

"Softy, right," he said, shaking his head. "Anyway, can you show me where they are?" he asked and Hermione looked up startled as she opened her book once again.

"Sure," she said shrugging. Once they were finished, they stood and left the great hall, Harry following behind closely and Draco noticed the group of girls following that had been following him since the week before.

"You have a fan group," a quiet voice from beside him said and Draco turned to see Harry smiling at him. Draco looked behind him at the group of probably ten girls, all ranging from twelve to eighteen, and he thought he saw a woman older than him there too.

"Yeah, I don't know why," he said, actually confused.

"You're new and you're good looking," Harry said and stopped when he realized what he had said, blushing furiously and Draco grinned.

"Thank you," he said and left it at that and Harry walked forward, catching up to Hermione who had kept walking. She led the way down to the dungeons, they were dark and damp, a slight moldy smell to them and Draco walked past the dark wood doors, in interest, looking intently at all of the portraits that hung in intervals down the corridor.

"Are you looking for something?" Harry's voice asked and Draco paused in front of a black wood door, different from the others and placed his hand on the handle leading into the room. A slight shiver ran through him as he felt a spell move over him, as if scanning to make sure that he would be allowed to enter. Taking a deep breath as the spell passed, he heard the click of a lock and he turned the handle and pushed the door open.

Inside was a large room filled with long tables, dust covering every open surface, a large ornate desk near the other end of the room, and a rusted cauldron sitting above a long forgotten fire pit. Behind the desk a small stairway led up to a landing that led to a door, another door to the left. Feeling like he was coming home, Draco took another deep breath and stepped inside.

"What is this place?" Hermione asked, her voice low as she looked around, touching a stool as she passed the first set of tables.

"Potions classroom," Draco said, taking the stairs at the back of the room two at a time before he reached the door, again he felt the spell skim over him before the door unlocked and admitted him inside.

* * *

Far above where Draco was entering the long unused room, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Albus Dumbledore, Molly and Arthur Weasley were speaking in what used to be the headmaster's rooms. A large map of Europe lay on the old headmaster's desk as James, Sirius, Remus and Arthur stood over it, talking strategies, Molly and Albus sitting back and talking quietly.

"Headmaster," a voice said and Albus turned to see the portrait of Severus Snape looking back at him.

"What are you doing here?" James' snide voice asked the portrait and the dead potions master turned a sneer on him.

"I am here to speak with Albus, so kindly butt out," he snapped, turning back to the one he was there to talk to. "Why did you not let me know that Draco was here in the castle?" he asked, his tone accusing.

"Severus, my friend, I rarely see you, you come and go as you please, and honestly, it slipped my mind," the older man said, smiling.

"Yes, Snivelus, where have you been?" Sirius asked and the potions master turned hard eyes to the man, but in a moment turned back to the old headmaster, dismissing the other man.

"He's in the potions room," he said simply and everyone there stopped what they were doing to stare at the portrait.

"But how? We've been trying to get into that room since before you died," Remus said. The portrait furrowed his brows in thought, he had been painted after the original's death and was not too clear on what he had done to lock the room away.

"Is it possible that you made it so only the boy could enter?" Albus asked, stroking his beard in thought.

"It is possible," the portrait replied, "I was his godfather, and I did teach him all I knew, I wouldn't want any bumbling idiot getting in and destroying things," he said, throwing James and Sirius a dirty look.

"Let's get down there then, we can finally use that room," James said, ignoring Severus but the portrait had already gone as the others stood to leave.

* * *

Inside the room behind the door, there was another large desk with a well-worn leather chair behind it, shelves lined the walls filled with books as well as vials of ingredients and potions. Moving in among the dust covered belongings of his godfather, Draco paused to search the books shelved among the vials.

"Draco," a voice said and the boy spun on his heel and blinked in surprise to see his godfather looking back at him through a portrait on the other wall.

"Severus," he said, walking to the portrait slowly, he had missed the man who had been his tutor and friend.

"It's good to see you," the other man said quietly, a small smile on his lips, something Draco was sure he had been the only one to see.

"And you, I've missed you," Draco replied and turned when he heard several voices outside the room and he turned back to the portrait in question.

"The Morons are coming," he said, his voice dry and Draco smirked, he knew that was Severus' mocking nickname for The Marauders.

"Draco, my boy," Albus said, as they entered the room, Hermione and Harry behind them, "how did you get into this room?"

"I put my hand on the handle to the doorway and opened it," Draco said, wondering if they had all gone nutters.

"We have been trying to get into this room for two years now," James spoke up, his eyes narrowed at the younger man.

"Don't tell me you don't know how to open a door," Draco drawled and James' eyes narrowed further.

"There was something keeping us out," Molly spoke up, just as James opened his mouth, trying to stop the verbal fight that would have followed.

"Severus?" Draco asked, turning to the portrait.

"I do not know, we are thinking it is possible that I left a spell keeping anyone but you out. I figure I might have worried that someone would ruin my things," the portrait said, his eyes flicking to the adults behind Draco before returning to Draco.

"I can understand that logic," Draco said.

"What's this?" a voice said and he turned to see Remus picking up a parchment from the middle of the desk that read "Draco" and handed it to said boy.

"It's Severus' handwriting," Draco said, turning the folded parchment over and opened the seal to read what was on the inside.

_"Draco_,

_If this letter finds you, then things have happened as I hoped they would. I hope that I am standing there with you while you are reading this, if not I am sorry. If you are standing there with Potter and the others, again, I am sorry, but hopefully you have found sanctuary with them and you and your parents are well. They may be wondering why they have not been able to get into this room, the reason is simple: I didn't want them to._

Draco laughed a bit at this, causing everyone's eyebrow's to raise but he ignored them and continued.

_You were the closest thing that I had to an apprentice, so I only trust you around my ingredients and potions, I do NOT want Potter or Black near my rooms, I want to make that clear, I will come back to haunt you if you let this happen. I placed a ward on the rooms that only you can get through, even now, as I write this letter, I will be leaving these rooms soon and will not be coming back. I will be leaving the castle on a mission, that honestly I do not believe I will be returning from and hope that in the future, you will be able to read this. I have made it that as long as you are in the room, others can join you, but if you are not, the door will not open. Also, you will be the only one who can open the store room, the door to the left of the main door, no one else will be able to join you there.  
_

_I have taught you all that I know, and hope that if you are reading this, you will take up what I once did and provide the potions needed to protect those in this castle._

_I always thought of you as a son, know that I loved you as one as well._

_~Severus Snape_

_Oh, and do what you can to make Potter's life miserable._

Draco had to laugh again at the final line, and blinked back the tears at the mention of feeling like he was Severus' son_, _though he had a father, Severus had been a close second.

"What does it say?" Albus asked after several long moments.

"I'm the only one who can access the store rooms and if I am not in these rooms, no one else can be here," he said, looking up at the others finally.

"Typical, so how are we going to get the potions?" James asked, throwing his hands up in the air.

"I'll make them," Draco said and James turned to him in disbelief.

"No," was all he said and Draco glared.

"I am the only one who can access his stores, how do you plan to make potions if you don't have ingredients?" he shot back.

"We'll head into the Forbidden Forest," Sirius spoke up.

"You know that is impossible," Albus replied, "those that reside in the forest have grown in their distaste for humans, all missions into the forest ends in someone being hurt."

"Fine," James said through clenched teeth finally after a long moment of silence, "but you will be watched."

"Fine," Draco said, smirking, feeling that he had won the small victory.

* * *

Ok chapter two. Let me know what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

Ok, wow, thank you so much for your reviews, I really appreciate them.

**i have an idea or two: **Wow, thank you so much, I think that is the best compliment anyone has given me. I'm really glad you like it so far.

**lilz54:** I'm glad you liked that letter, I was debating on how to introduce them, but I liked the thought of Hermione offering the 'olive branch'.

**hana-to-mame, destruction destiny, randy 13**, **cascol3** and **TalaDentro: **Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you guys like it and hope I don't disappoint.

* * *

Draco looked up from the cauldron he was leaning over, checking his work and at the same time taking in the man who had been assigned to watch his progress. He was older, maybe in his late twenties and definitely a Weasley, this one named Bill, he had to wonder, did they ever stop breeding? The man sat at the back of the room, looking bored out of his mind as he leaned his stool back against the wall, staring at the ceiling. Over the last week that he had become the official potions master for the castle, he spent a lot of time in the dungeons and sometimes Hermione and the two boys joined him, keeping his watch dog occupied. Other times, like now, they sat in an uncomfortable silence, one wishing he was not there and the other wishing the other wasn't there either.

"So what did you do to earn this watch?" Draco asked, stepping back as a puff of violet smoke rose from the cauldron and he nodded in satisfaction before turning to the group of vials he had ready to bottle the potion.

"What do you mean?" the other man asked, not looking at him.

"Can't imagine you volunteered to sit in this dank dungeon and watch an ex-Death Eater," Draco said, waiving his hand slightly, watching the redhead closely as he used his wand-less magic to quickly fill the vials.

"I didn't, I'm somewhat proficient in potions, so they think that with me watching, I can keep an eye on you and you can't try anything to tamper with them," the older man said, leaning forward, placing all four legs on the floor.

"So sitting at the back of the room, where you can't watch every move I make, is keeping an eye on me?" Draco asked, an eyebrow quirked, setting the used cauldron aside and turned to another, pulling it over the fire.

"Something like that," the man said, leaning forward, resting his arms on the table and watching Draco for a long moment. Ignoring the man's stares, Draco walked to the store room, the familiar feeling of the spell passing over him as he went and grabbed a bottle of camel spider legs. As he left the store room, the door opened and Hermione walked in, a tray of food with her and Draco smiled.

"You missed lunch again," she scolded, placing the tray down on the table, placing her hands on her hips.

"I've been busy," Draco said, walking past and taking a roll before walking to the cauldron and placing the spider's legs on the table next to it.

"You know, if I weren't around, you'd let poor Bill starve to death," Hermione said, taking a seat at the second table after taking Bill his plate.

"Well, if it's too much trouble, I'm sure that we could get a house elf to bring us food," Draco said, opening the bottle of legs, he pulled out three and started to cut them up into small slivers.

"No, don't worry about it," the girl said watching him closely and after a moment, got up to watch what he was doing.

"Did you ask?" he finally asked her after she stared at him for several long moments and she sighed in annoyance.

"He said no," she replied before sitting on a stool next to him. After watching him since he started she found potions to be interesting and had voiced a desire to learn. Bill, who had been there, had suggested before he start teaching her the basics, they should run it by Potter and Dumbledore. Dumbledore had thought it a great idea, thinking that they should have more potion makers but James had shot it down from the get-go.

"He's a moron," Draco said, cupping half of the spider legs and placing them into the cauldron before setting the fire low.

"That's my dad you're talking about," a voice said and they looked up to see Harry and Ron walking into the room, a light scowl on his face.

"That doesn't mean he's not a moron," Draco said, returning to the cauldron.

"Well, that 'moron'," Harry said, using his fingers for quotation marks replied, "just authorized you to teach anyone who wants to learn, potions." At this, Draco stopped and blinked before looking up.

"What?" he asked.

"He's decided to let anyone who wants to learn, learn," Harry said, crossing his arms and Draco closed his eyes.

"He's just trying to piss me off isn't he?" he asked no one in particular and he heard Bill snort.

"Oh come on, at least this way you can teach Hermione," the older man said and Draco sent a glare his way.

"But this opens the door to anyone," he said, placing the remainder of the spider legs back in the jar.

"Is that such a bad thing?" Ron asked, taking one of Draco's rolls, which got him a slap on the hand from Hermione and a glare from Draco.

"Not everyone can do potions Weasley," he said, "it's an art form."

"Right," Ron said, taking the roll when Hermione turned her back to him and taking a bite.

"And with that attitude, I'm going to say that you are not welcome in my class," Draco said, slapping the younger man in the back of the head, receiving a startled yelp.

"Didn't want to anyway," the redhead muttered before slinking out of the room.

"I'm going to talk to Potter, there is no way I'm letting anyone and everyone in here," Draco said, pulling the cauldron from the fire.

"This should be interesting," Bill said, placing his fork down next to his plate. "I think I"ll join you," he said, grinning.

"I think we should too, damage control," Hermione said, also standing, "you remember last time you two had a 'discussion'." Draco had needed access to the library that had been closed off, to say the least the discussion had led to Draco lashing out and hitting the older man.

"Great, we'll be one happy troupe," Draco said sarcastically, waiting for the others to leave before following them, feeling the room seal shut behind him. Taking the lead, he made his way up to the headmaster's office and walked right in, not caring who or what was behind the door. James, Dumbledore, Sirius and Remus were all there, looking like they were having an afternoon tea and all but Dumbledore stood when they entered.

"Malfoy," James said, his voice low, "what a pleasant surprise."

"I am not teaching just anyone," Draco said, glaring at the older man and he heard Hermione sigh in exasperation behind him and James cocked an eyebrow.

"You wanted my permission to teach Hermione, you now have it, but you will teach anyone who wants to learn."

"I will not be held responsible for a fools who thing they know a few things about ingredients to blow us all into oblivion," Draco said through clenched teeth.

"That is my decision," James replied, turning back to the other men in the room, a clear dismissal.

"What about this?" Hermione spoke up, seeing Draco's clenched fists and the intent to murder in his eyes, "what if he has a trial for anyone who wants to learn, if they pass, he'll teach them, if not, he won't." James turned back to stare at the girl, then Draco, as if thinking it over for a long moment. Maybe he recognized the hate and anger in Draco's eyes or his angry posture, or maybe it was Hermione's worried expression that made him give his decision.

"Fine," he said, "but I want to know who."

"Thank you James," Hermione said, pulling on Draco's arm.

"Just a moment," the older man said, standing, "Malfoy, can I speak with you for a moment?" Draco turned back, an eyebrow cocked. "Just for a moment," James said, pointing to a door to the left, leading to a smaller room. Draco shot Hermione a look and turned to follow the older man into the room where he shut the door and leaned against it.

"What do you want Potter?" Draco asked, tense at being in a room alone with the other man.

"I want you to stay away from Hermione, Ron and my son," the man said, crossing his arms and Draco blinked at him before laughing out right.

"You want _me_ to stay away from them?" he asked and James glared.

"They seem to follow you around, I want it to stop," was the firm command and Draco almost doubled over in laughter.

"No, Hermione follows me around, the other two seem to follow her because Weasley wants in her pants and, well I'm not sure why Harry does, he must be bored."

"You'll discourage them from doing so in the future," was the reply, his tone threatening and Draco sobered quickly.

"Can't do that," he said and James stood straight, his hand flexing as if he wanted to reach for something and the younger man shook his head. "You, yourself just authorized me to teach anyone who wants to learn potions, and Hermione _really _wants to learn potions." James pursed his lips this before turning around.

"Fine," he said going to open the door, "but you will stop seeing them outside of the classroom, do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," was the sarcastic response and Draco wished he had his wand, just to hex the older man, just once.

* * *

In the end, he had eleven people to teach, twenty seven had tried, but only those few had made it. Hermione had made it, not surprisingly, Bill had signed on for the course, though Draco planned to use his knowledge of potions to help those who needed extra attention. There was an older man in his late sixties who had once upon a time, before the war started, been a high healer in Germany, and now wanted to know the other side of the process. Most of them were in their thirties, Hermione, surprisingly Harry, and the Weasley twins were five of the youngest, a young boy who was only ten, an almost prodigy when it came to potions, the only other young person in the room. Draco had to wonder how badly it irked the older Potter to know that Harry would be spending a lot of time with the one person who he had threatened to stay away from him and it made him smile every time he thought about it. He had also not stopped eating meals with the trio, even after the threat, half of the time, he took his meal in the potions room, sometimes his pupils joined him as well and he found himself enjoying their company.

He still wandered the school at night, though he was exhausted by the end of the day, sleep eluded him and found the quiet of the castle calmed his nerves.

One night, as he walked through the fifth floor hallways, he found himself being followed and had to wonder who was out that late at night. Quickly turning the corner he stopped and waited for someone to come around but no one did. Drawing his brows together, he looked around the corner but saw no one, but he had sworn someone had followed him. Shrugging, thinking he was being paranoid, he turned to resume his meander through the corridors when he caught a flash of something that stopped him. Reaching out, lightning fast, he grabbed what looked like air but felt like silk and pulled, revealing a very disheveled-looking Harry Potter who looked very surprised.

"How did you know?" he asked and Draco looked down at the slippers he wore on his feet.

"Next time, make sure you're fully covered," was the reply and Draco turned to the thing in his hand and his eyes grew wide. "An invisibility cloak," he said, gently running his hands over the cloth and noticed Harry fidgeting next to him, looking nervous. "Worried about something?"

"That's my dad's, he'd kill me if he knew I took it," the younger boy said, reaching out as if to take it but stopped halfway and dropped his arm.

"I'm not going to keep it Potter," he said gently, pressing the fabric back into the others hands.

"Thank you," Harry said and Draco took a moment to study him. He could see right off that Harry had dark circles under his eyes, the irises ringed by red as if he hadn't slept in some time, the pallor of his cheeks pale, everything screaming 'exhausted'.

"Don't sleep do you?" Draco asked, turning to walk and a moment later, Harry joined him.

"Bad dreams," Harry said, running a hand through his messy hair, making it worse and Draco chuckled.

"Have you had them often?" he asked, turning to lead the way down the stairs, Harry following him.

"No, they only started about a month ago."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Draco asked, hesitantly.

"What? Oh, no, no, thank you, but no," Harry said and Draco let out a inaudible sigh of relief, he liked the younger man, but was no head doctor.

"Have you tried talking to your dad?" he asked a moment later when the silence stretched between them and Harry chuckled humorlessly.

"Right, it's not like he doesn't have a lot on his plate already, he doesn't need to deal with the boogey man under my bed." By this time they reached the stairs leading down the the dungeons and Draco didn't stop and Harry didn't stop following him.

"Have you tried a dreamless sleep potion?" he asked, walking into the potions room, to the back and into the office where he pulled one down from a shelf.

"No, they need those for patients in the hospital wing," Harry said, looking around the room from the doorway.

"Here," Draco said, pushing the small vial into Harry's hand, "it's a mild one, we'll see how this works and if you need something stronger, let me know." The younger boy stared down at the potion then back up at Draco.

"Thank you," he said after a few minutes.

"You're welcome," Draco said and they stood staring at each other for a long moment before Draco cleared his throat. "You should get back, its getting later and you need to get as much sleep as you can."

"Right," Harry said and turned, almost reluctantly before moving to leave the room.

"Like I said, if you need something stronger, let me know," Draco said, leaving the room after him, "or, if you want, you can join me in my wanderings," he offered, and kicked himself after. Harry turned to look at him for a long moment, a smile forming on his lips.

"I'd like that," he said, a slight blush forming on his cheeks, before he hung his head and turned, wrapping the cloak around himself and disappearing and Draco couldn't help but smile as he heard the soft footfalls leave the corridor. That night was one of the first he went to sleep without waking up every few hours from his own bad dreams.

* * *

Ok, wow, that was cheesy as hell. Let me know what you think please :). This is the first of a few interactions late at night I'm going to have those two have. I'll get around to the Harry/Draco lovin' soon, it's just a process. :)


	4. Chapter 4

It was three days before Draco saw Harry again, this time he was brewing a complicated concoction that would need his attention for a span of thirteen hours, and for this, he was glad he had recruited Bill to help in the classes, as he would take over the next day. The younger man made his way into the room slowly, a light blanket around his shoulders, as if he were afraid he was going to be thrown out and Draco looked up briefly and smiled at him.

"Did the Dreamless Sleep potion work?" he asked, turning back to the cauldron as Harry sat at a desk second from the front.

"It worked great," the other boy said, wrapping the blanket around him a bit tighter.

"Not that I mind the company, but why are you here then?" Draco asked, adding a drop of wyvern's blood into the brew before setting it aside.

"I just needed to get out of there," Harry said, propping his chin on his palm and watching closely to what the other man was doing. Draco could tell that there was something more to what Harry was doing there, but didn't feel it was his right to ask. They made small talk for the next half hour, Draco barely looking up from the florescent yellow potion, when he heard Harry yawn for the fifth time since he had arrived.

"Why don't you go back to bed, you seem tired," Draco said, turning towards the table to start pulling a hippogriff's feather apart and dropping them into the potion.

"I don't want to go back there," Harry said around a yawn and Draco cocked an eyebrow, but again didn't ask.

"Why don't you sleep in my bed then?" he offered and Harry looked at him in question.

"It's not like I'm going to be using it tonight or anytime soon," Draco said, shrugging his shoulders.

"You're sure you don't mind?" Harry asked, already standing and making his way towards the office in the back that led to the private rooms.

"Not in the least, I'll wake you in enough time to let you get back before your dad gets suspicious."

"Thank you Draco," Harry said, passing through the doorway and out of sight. Draco couldn't help the small smile on his face, mentally setting an alarm to wake the other in a few hours time.

* * *

The next night, Draco ran into Harry who was wandering the castle under his invisibility cloak, literally bumping into the smaller young man as he rounded a corner on the second floor.

"Needed to get out of there again?" Draco asked, an eyebrow raised as he reached a hand out to help the other to his feet.

"He's insufferable," Harry replied, folding his cloak and shrinking it before putting it in his pocket.

"That is what I've said from the start," Draco replied, walking again and Harry fell into step beside him.

"Yes, but you're biased," Harry said, grinning at Draco who returned the smile and ruffling Harry's hair, much to his chagrin.

For the next week, they would either meet in the hallways, finally designating a place on the third floor their third night in, or in the classroom where Harry would take over Draco's bed until the older male woke him to return to his rooms and Draco found himself becoming more attached to the younger man, something that Hermione picked up on quickly.

"You like him don't you?" she asked him one day when she had stayed behind after the class to help him clean up when Bill had been called away.

"Yes," was the reply and the girl stopped for a moment, not expecting a direct reply, maybe something in the round about fashion.

"You know he's taken right?" she asked gently and Draco looked up for a brief moment before waving his hand again and the rag in the cauldron returned to its cleaning. Hermione and Bill were the only two who knew that he could use wandless magic, he had used it save Bill from fumes that had erupted from a potion that had gone wrong. Hermione had seen him use it one day when she had returned after the class and saw him cleaning the cauldron's the same way he was doing now. Neither had been willing to turn him in, Bill because he had practically saved his life and Hermione because she wanted to learn to do it herself, which they were in the middle of learning now.

"I was not aware of that, who is the lucky bloke?" he asked.

"How do you know they're male?" Hermione asked and Draco shot her a look. "Right," she said, "his name is Cedric Diggory."

"Why haven't I met him?" he asked pulling the rag back once the cauldron was finished, put it aside and grabbed another.

"He's been away on a mission, he's the leader of a field team, they tend to be gone for long periods of time," she explained, concentrating hard on the rag in her hand but it refused to move, much to her annoyance. Draco hummed in a noncommittal way and leaned back on a stool, resting his elbows on the table behind him, watching Hermione try and chuckled.

"You have to let it come naturally, wandless magic is in the mind, but its also in the body," he said and Hermione looked at him, frustration written on her face. "All right," he said standing up and placing his hands on her shoulders, stepping close enough that they were almost touching, "close your eyes and relax and use your body, think of it as water, moving your body back and forth, letting the magic move with it."

"What the hell?" a voice cried and the two spun around, finding Ron standing there, red in the face and glaring at both of them.

"Weasle, what an unpleasant surprise," Draco said, waving his hand slightly and the rag that was cleaning dropped in the cauldron.

"Ron, it's not what it looks like," Hermione said, her voice calm as she took in the boys rigid posture, red face and clenched hands.

"Really?" he asked, incredulous, "because it looks like you're getting a little too friendly with a Death Eater."

"Really Weasle," Draco said, shaking his head, thinking that Ron Weasley was on his top five "To Hex" list. "Just because you want in her pants and can't get into them, doesn't mean we all do," he said and noticed the girl's glare, "not that you're not lovely and I'm sure any guy would be lucky to..."

"Stop while you're ahead," Hermione said dryly and turned back to the redhead. "Ron, I'm not interested in Draco, I'm actually dating someone if you must know," she said, folding her arms and Ron sputtered for several long moments.

"You are?" Draco asked, turning to the girl and she smiled.

"I am," she said, "and I'm not revealing who, so don't ask. Anyway I need to get going, its nearly lunch time and I promised my parent's we would have lunch. Thanks for the lesson," she said, and just to get under Ron's skin further, she leaned up and kissed the older boy's cheek before leaving.

"You can leave now," Draco said, glaring at the boy who still stood in his doorway.

"If you lay one finger on her..." Ron snarled and Draco laughed out loud.

"Believe me Ron, it's not her I want to lay a finger on," he said before using the room's magic to push the confused boy away from the door and close the portrait.

* * *

Ok, I know it's short, but I want to end it there, I'm going to bring Diggory in on the next one, bring him back from 'field duty' and let Draco get jealous :D. Anyway I was sad that I only got one review, but thank you **lilz54** for the review, I'm glad you're liking it and you're my favorite so far :). And please if it sucks, just tell me, I promise I won't hate you forever, just a few months, that's all :). In all, all I really want is to know if you like it or not, you can just write one word, like "sucks" or "great" or "die", something I don't care. I just like to know what people think. Thank you, that is all.


	5. Chapter 5

Wow, I didn't realize that it has been a year and a half since I updated this, I'm so sorry I haven't been updating this, I'm a bad person, I know, I've been concentrating on my NCIS fic but then the other day I decided to read this again and remembered that I had a lot of good ideas for this and decided to pick it up again. So here you go, enjoy.

A couple of other thing's though, before you proceed, I made Cedric kind of a dick, sorry if that bothers you, oh and I have decided to add Mpreg to the story, again, I hope that doesn't bother anyone, if it does, don't continue reading, your choice, I warned you, so no flames please. Also, there is a mention of abortion, nothing serious and I don't condone it, it's just part of the story. If you haven't hit the back button by now, enjoy, thank you.

* * *

One morning, Draco walked up the stairs from the dungeon and found a large crowd standing by the doors to the front of the castle. Finding his interest peaked; he made his way around the crowd until he saw a familiar face. Hermione was standing near the edge of the crowd, a little ways off, leaning against the wall and watching the excitement.

"What's going on?" Draco asked, walking up beside her and smirked when she jumped and turned, a hand over her heart.

"Oh, Draco, you scared me," she said, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes for a moment.

"Sorry," he said, still smirking and she sighed and shook her head. "So what's the commotion?"

"Cedric and his team are back," Hermione said and at that moment they heard a voice shout over the din of the crowd.

"Cedric!" Harry cried and the crowd parted enough to let the boy through and he ran into Cedric's arms as he picked him up and swung him around. Draco watched as they kissed for a long moment before he turned around and was about to head to breakfast when James Potter made his way through the crowd.

"Welcome back," he said, grasping Cedric's wrist and pulled him into a quick hug before leading him off to who-knew-where, leaving Harry behind. Once the team was gone, following James out of the front hall, the crowd dispersed, leaving Harry standing there by the front doors, looking lost. Shooting Hermione a look, Draco stepped forward and wrapped an arm around his shoulders leading him to the great hall for breakfast.

* * *

Later, Draco was in the dungeon with his feet up on the desk, reading one of his god father's many books when the Weasley twins walked in, grinning.

"Gred, Forge," Draco said, looking at the correct twin in turn before turning back to his book.

"How do you always do that? Not even our mum can tell us apart all of the time," Fred replied, frowning and slumping down on a stool, George taking the one next to him.

"I've had years of training to notice the slightest thing about others," Draco said, shrugging, still not looking up from the book.

"Really, what do you notice about us?" George asked, and Draco was glad they had quit finishing each other's sentences in front of him. Sitting up, he planted his feet firmly on the floor and closed his book before leaning forward to watch them for a moment.

"George, you're taller," he started and said twin shot the other a haughty look, "but Fred you're broader through the shoulders and chest," Fred shot the look back. "Fred you're longer in the face but George has a wider chin, also Fred's hair is a darker shade of red."

"What else?" George asked, sitting forward, intrigued, they had noticed the hair thing but no one else seemed to have.

"Fred has a slight limp," Draco said, sitting back in his chair, "not noticeable to someone not looking but it's there and a well placed spell would cripple him for life. George you've had your nose broken at least twice, expertly fixed but there is a slight crook to it, attesting to the abuse. Fred, you tend to clench your right hand as if it is falling asleep when in use, I would guess nerve damage of some kind. George, you have a scar above your left eye, it is covered by hair, but it is noticeable when you brush your hand through it, a nervous tic if ever I saw one. Should I go on?" he asked, looking between the two shocked men who were staring back in awe.

"Wow," Fred said, sitting back and rubbing a hand along his shoulder where Draco assumed the nerve damage had occurred.

"Can you teach us to do that?" George asked and Draco raised an eyebrow, chewing on his lower lip in thought. Teaching the other two who were smart and very observant, they had to be with all of the pranks they pulled, could be useful to him in the end.

"All right," he said and the twins grinned at each other, "To start off I'll give you an easy one. Watch the high table tonight at dinner," the high table referred to where the teachers used to sit when it was a school and now Potter and the others in charge sat to talk.

"What are we looking for?" Fred asked and Draco smiled.

"You tell me," he said and sat back, picking up his book and ignoring them as they stood up to leave, talking to each other in low tones. It would be good to have another pair of observant eyes, two was better, especially if his suspicions were proven right.

* * *

He was sitting at his table eating his dinner and reading up on a potion he needed to start that night when two of the seats across from him were occupied.

"Well Oliver," Cedric Diggory said, speaking to the other man next to him, "the rumors are true, we do have a pet Death Eater."

"Not only a Death Eater," 'Oliver' said, "but the son of _the_ Death Eater, Draco Malfoy." There was nothing but disdain in either of their voices and Draco looked up at them, a bored expression on his face.

"I see my reputation precedes me," he said, his voice low and his eyes sharp.

"Oh, it more than precedes you," Diggory said, leaning forward in a threatening manner and Draco just smirked.

"And how is that exactly?" he asked and the other man spluttered for a moment before he settled on glaring at him.

"I don't like your kind," Cedric said, his voice low and angry and Draco snorted.

"Oh, I'm heartbroken, here I was thinking we were going to be the best of friends," he said, clutching at his chest in an over dramatic fashion, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Diggory stood abruptly, glaring down at Draco, his hand reaching for his wand while Draco just stared back, bored by the proceedings.

"Watch yourself and stay away from Harry," he hissed and Draco out right laughed at that, an eyebrow raised.

"What are you, a James Potter clone?" he asked and leaned forward as Oliver stood up as well, taking a defensive stance, but Draco ignored him. "Are you threatening me for your sake or Potters? Or are you jealous?" he asked, a wicked gleam in his eye and Diggory did pull his wand at that, pointing it between Draco's eyes; Draco didn't flinch.

"Jealous, of you?" he snarled and his hand clenched tightly around his wand, Draco noted that everyone had stopped to watch and he smiled again.

"Of course, someone had to keep him company while you were gone," he said, sitting back, noticing a tic in the other man's jaw. "I can't tell you how many nights he spent in my bed," he said innocently, wanting nothing more than to provoke the other man into attacking so he could put him in his place. Diggory's mouth opened, a curse on the tip of his tongue, Draco was sure, when a body positioned itself between the two men, in the line of fire.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Diggory snapped, dropping his hand holding the wand as to not point it at his boyfriend.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," the younger man snapped back and was joined a moment later by Hermione who also stood in front of Draco.

"Do you know what this… animal," Diggory spat pointing with a finger at Draco, "was saying about you?"

"I heard him," Harry said, throwing Draco an exasperated look over his shoulder, to which Draco looked back innocently, "and it's not what you think. I would thank you not to believe anything he says," he pointed out and Draco felt a pang of hurt and anger.

"Then explain it to me," Diggory said, putting his wand away and folding his arms over his chest. Harry looked around at the people who were staring at them, most turning back to their dinner when they saw him looking before turning back to his boyfriend.

"Not here," he said, taking the other man's arm and dragging him from the great hall, not sparing Draco another glance.

"You just had to do that didn't you?" Hermione asked, she had stayed behind and turned to him once Harry, Diggory and Oliver were gone.

"He started it," Draco said, shrugging his shoulders and Hermione smiled before she turned and followed the others, leaving Draco to finish his dinner alone.

* * *

Draco was out wandering the castle once again that night but he hadn't met Harry yet and wondered if he had driven him away when he was attacked from behind. A binding spell tripped him and sent him to the floor, banging his chin and causing him to bite his tongue, tasting blood. The first blow came as a kick to his side, sending him to his back, the next was a fist to the face, three times in a row and after that, he lost track as he blacked out.

When he came to sometime later, the first thing he noticed was that he was no longer bound by the hex, the second was that he was in pain and a lot of it. His face was throbbing; he could barely see out of his left eye, and sight out of his right was completely blocked. His nose was throbbing in sync with his heartbeat and his lips felt swollen and bruised as well as his left cheekbone. He flexed his limbs, fingers and toes and was happy to find that he had full function in those. As he rolled to his left, he quickly rolled back, gasping in pain as his ribs protested, the pain indicating cracked if not broken bones. Rolling to his right, there was some pain but not as much as there had been on the left and he got up on his hands and knees. It took another three minutes to climb to his feet, leaning heavily on the wall, his right arm gripping his left side and he staggered towards the dungeons.

"Draco?" a voice called and the man in question stopped and turned his head, seeing Harry making his way towards him quickly. "Oh my God," he said, stopping in front of Draco and reached a tentative hand out towards his face but Draco pulled away.

"I'm fine," he said but it came out in a mumbled mess that he wasn't sure was intelligible. Harry ignored him and moved to Draco's right side and wrapped his arm around his waist taking some of his weight. If Draco hadn't been in so much pain, he might have laughed at the picture he was sure they made, Harry, at least a head shorter and much slimmer than him, trying to support his weight. They made their way slowly down to the dungeon and Harry sat him on the nearest stool to the door and turned back.

"I'm going to get Madam Pomfrey," he said and before Draco could protest, was out the door. Draco had enough healing draughts that he could probably fix it himself, but his mouth was in no condition to yell after the younger man. Draco stood and limped his way towards the back and painfully made his way up the stairs, he paused every few steps and tried not to gasp and cause more damage to his ribs. He finally made his way into the room and stopped, leaning against the desk and resting for a minute. He undid the belt then the button and lowered the zip, allowing the pants to drop at his feet before stepping out of them gingerly and reaching for his shirt. He knew that this was going to hurt, it hurt just to bend his arms to grab the hem so he took a deep breath, grabbed the material and yanked it over his head. He bit down hard on his lower lip, forgetting for a moment it was injured until it started bleeding again, to avoid screaming in pain, his vision graying a bit around the edges and he dropped the shirt next to his pants. He stood gasping for a long moment before he looked down at the bruises that were starting to form. His whole left side was a mass of black and blue reaching from just below his armpit to his hip. The right side was better, but not by much, the bruising was just not as extensive as the left. He heard a gasp and he turned his head to find the mediwitch standing there with Harry next to her, staring at his back. He knew his back was covered in old scars, many from spells and hexes he wasn't able to avoid, others from a whip. His front was the same way, but nowhere as bad as the back so he turned to avoid answering any questions the two people in his doorway wanted to ask.

"Well Mr. Malfoy," Madam Pomfrey said, moving into the room, a small bag in her hand, "let me take a look at we have." She made him sit on the desk so she could see better and he hissed only a bit when she probed his ribs, and cooperated when she prodded his lips and eyes, clucking her tongue the entire time. "Well you have three broken ribs on your left side, bruised ones on the right, multiple cuts and bruises on your face, nothing broken there luckily. Here," she said, pressing one of his own healing potions into his hands which he drank and felt the swelling in his face start to fade almost immediately, the pain in his ribs receding.

"Get some rest and you should be healed by the morning," she said, squeezing his knee, they had become friends, having worked on the potions that would cure her patients together.

"Thank you Poppy," he said, this time his words were more easily understood as the swelling in his lips disappeared. The older witch nodded, gave Harry a look before she left the room, closing the door behind her. Once she was gone, Draco moved his armoire in the next room and pulled out sleep pants and slipped them on. He turned to find Harry still there, shifting from foot to foot, not looking at him directly.

"You came looking for me," Draco said, walking to the bed and sinking down on the side.

"I heard Cedric and Oliver talking," Harry replied after a long silence and Draco nodded his head.

"Thank you for getting Poppy," Draco said and Harry finally looked up, smiling at him and Draco felt his breath catch, nothing to do with his healing ribs, he was sure

"It's the least I could do." Draco yawned into his fist and lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry," Harry said and the other man opened his eyes to find the younger man standing next to the bed looking down at him.

"It's not your fault, I did provoke them," Draco pointed out and received a snort in response.

"True, next time, try to avoid that," Harry said and squeezed his knee, much like the mediwitch, but unlike Poppy's touch, Draco could feel the warmth of Harry's hand after he pulled away. "I should head back," Harry said reluctantly and Draco nodded, sitting up.

"Right, I'll see you tomorrow?" he didn't seem to be able to stop it from sounding like a question and he hated it.

"Of course, we do have lessons," Harry said and stood there, and after biting his lip for a moment quickly he darted forward and kissed Draco on the cheek. Pulling back, a blush on his cheeks, he said goodnight before he practically ran from the room. Draco laid back and stared at the ceiling and couldn't help the grin that stretched across his face.

* * *

The next morning, his face looked a lot better but there were bruises that had faded to yellowish-green still there and his ribs were still sore, they had healed but there was a lingering ache. He made his way up to breakfast, passing Cedric and Oliver and their team who snickered, which Draco ignored but did send a small stinging hex at Oliver and Cedric causing them to jump. They looked around shocked and Draco kept walking, smirking to himself.

When he was seated at his table and stated piling food onto his plate, two of the seats across from him were occupied, much like last night but this time he had no problem with who was there.

"Find anything interesting?" he asked the twins who were grinning at him.

"It's Remus isn't it?" Fred started, his voice low and Draco cocked an eyebrow.

"He usually has a glass of wine with his meal, he didn't last night," George put in and Draco had to wonder how hard they were staring at the table last night to figure this out.

"What does that tell you?" he asked and both of them froze, Fred's mouth hanging open. "What do you know about Remus Lupin?" he asked, sitting forward.

"He's in a relationship with Sirius Black," George said and Draco hummed in response, he hadn't been aware of that fact, they sure didn't act like they were in a relationship.

"He's a were-" Fred started but George kicked him under the table and Draco was intrigued as Fred coughed and closed his mouth.

"All right," Draco said when they were quiet for a bit longer, "I'll give it to you, Lupin is a carrier." He watched as the light bulb went off above their heads and they stared back at him in shock, carriers were males that could carry children.

"How did you figure that out?" George asked after a moment and Draco smirked.

"Easy, Poppy was out of pregnancy potions, he had to come to me, plus I do have a bit more discretion than Poppy, with people in and out of the med wing all the time."

"You cheated!" Fred cried but he was grinning.

"No," Draco replied, "I gave you something that I knew for sure, to test you."

"Did we pass?" George asked, leaning forward.

"Yes, we can talk about this later, after lessons," he said and the two stood up saying their goodbyes before leaving him to it.

* * *

Once he was done eating he headed back to the dungeon's but he heard a voice calling him and he turned to find Remus Lupin walking towards him, looking around as if to make sure no one saw him.

"What can I do for you Mr. Lupin?" Draco asked, continuing his trek down to his rooms but the other man didn't respond until they were in the potions classroom and had sat down on a stool.

"Can you get rid of it?" he asked finally and Draco stopped where he was pulling ingredients out of the store room.

"There are several ways to abort the child, if that is what you wish," Draco said, gathering what he needed and entered the classroom again. He took a quick look at Remus' face, noticing that it was pale and drawn. "Have you told Black?" he asked and the other man started so violently that Draco reached out a hand to steady him.

"No, and I don't think I'm going to," the other man stated after a moment, resting his head in his hands.

"It's not my place to say one way or the other, Mr. Lupin, if you want, I can make you a potion that would take care of it painlessly." There was a long silence and Draco watched the other man closely, he didn't agree with killing the child, especially during this time, but he was sure the other man had his reasons.

"I'm a werewolf," Lupin said from the palms of his hands and Draco blinked, he had guessed, from what Fred had almost said earlier that day but hadn't been sure until now. "What if I decide to keep it and the first time I transform, my body kills it?"

"What does Poppy say?" Draco asked, he didn't know how to field this question, he'd never been around a pregnant werewolf, the only werewolf he had known was Greyback but he hadn't interacted much with him.

"She doesn't know what would happen, I don't know if there has ever been a pregnant werewolf before."

"I would think," Draco said slowly after a minute, "that since you are built to carry a child, that the werewolf side of you would accommodate."

"I wasn't born this way Malfoy," Lupin spat, "I was bitten twenty years ago, and that's the other thing, what if my body does not kill the child when I change, will the child be a werewolf as well?" Draco stayed silent, unsure of the answer to that question. "I couldn't put my child through that, I won't," he said with conviction. "Brew the potion," he said before standing quickly and storming out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Draco stood there for a long moment, staring at the door before he turned and made his way into the office at the back. Entering the room, he walked to the wall on the far side of the room that held a bookshelf full of his god father's books. It was sometime later that he heard his name called and he looked up from the stack of books in front of him to see Bill standing in his doorway.

"There you are, everyone is here, ready to get started," he said, eyeing the books that surrounded Draco on the desk as well as the floor. "Looking for something?"

"Yes, I'll be out in a minute," Draco said, taking the book he had been pouring over and setting it aside, the page he had been studying marked.

When he entered the room, he noticed that everyone was there except one.

"Where is Harry?" he asked and the other's looked at each other and shrugged. Hearing a commotion outside the door that was open slightly, Draco made his way towards it and poked his head out. What he saw made his blood boil, Harry and Cedric were standing down the hallway, and Harry was pressed against the wall, Cedric pressing against him.

"Cedric, I'm late," he heard Harry say, trying to push against the larger man's chest but he didn't budge.

"I told you I don't like the idea of you being around those potions," Cedric said, trying to kiss Harry but the smaller of the two turned his head away.

"And I told you why I wanted to do this," Harry shot back, glaring at the other man.

"You do enough," Cedric said, kissing Harry's neck when he refused to let him kiss his lips, "you support us, you're here when I come home, that's good enough for me."

"Well, that's not good enough for me," Harry snapped and flinched to the side when Cedric punched the wall next to his head.

"It's that damn Death Eater isn't it?" he snarled, getting in Harry's face and Draco took a step outside the door, willing to intervene but Harry put his hands on Cedric's chest and pushed him backwards, causing the other man to stumble back.

"Draco has nothing to do with this," he snapped, "go away Cedric, I really don't want to talk to you right now," he said when the other man opened his mouth. Harry turned and started walking towards Draco and the classroom and Draco met Cedric's eyes, both glaring furiously at each other.

"Sorry I'm late Draco," Harry said, slipping inside the room and past Draco who remained where he was for a moment. Cedric stood there for a long moment, clenching and unclenching his fists and Draco stood in the doorway, blocking him if he tried to go after Harry.

"Watch your back Death Eater," the other man spat before turning and storming away from the room and Draco turned back, barely glancing at Harry as he took his place at the front of the room.

* * *

Later that night, he was brewing the potion he had found in the book when the door across the room slammed open, banging against the wall, revealing Sirius Black who rushed in and shoved Draco against the desk.

"Something I can do for you cousin?" Draco asked calmly though his magic was itching to throw the other man off of him.

"You're going to kill my child?" the other man snarled.

"Lupin was the one who requested the potion," he pointed out and the man above him growled and the hands in Draco's shirt tightened before he turned and threw the cauldron to the ground, spilling its contents. Draco pulled himself up and looked down at the potion spreading across the floor before turning his eyes back to the man glaring at him.

"What are you going to do now?" the other man asked, smirking and Draco huffed out a laugh.

"Start again," he said shrugging and straightening his shirt out.

"Like hell you are," Sirius said, advancing towards him.

"Sirius!" a voice said from the doorway and they both turned to find Remus standing there with James and Dumbledore beside him. "_I _requested the potion, if you're mad at anyone, be mad at me!"

"How could you do this Remus?" Sirius asked, and the other man shook his head.

"I can't stand the thought of our child being a werewolf Sirius," he said quietly and the other man pulled him into a hug. "We don't know if he would survive the changing every month anyway," he said into Sirius' shoulder. There was a long silence as the two men held each other and Draco started to clean up the mess on the floor. James made his way in, a thunderous look on his face as he stood over Draco who looked up at him from his place on the floor.

"You are not allowed to brew these potions any longer," he snapped and Draco pushed himself to his feet.

"James," Remus said but James held up a hand, stopping him.

"No longer," he said, his voice low and threatening.

"Not a problem," Draco said shrugging his shoulders and James gave him a triumphant smirk before turning. "It wasn't an abortion potion though," Draco said nonchalantly and the other's turned towards him.

"What do you mean?" Remus asked.

"I found something in Severus' books, something called the Wolfsbane Potion, have you heard of it?" he asked, looking directly at Remus.

"No," the other man said, shaking his head and Draco nodded, not surprised, it was an old potion, out of use.

"It's quite handy, it keeps the change in a werewolf from happening every month," he said lightly and the room was silent.

"There's a way for me to not change?" Remus asked his voice full of hope and Draco could only imagine what it was like for the other man every month.

"If I understand the potion's goal, yes," he replied.

"Our child?" Sirius asked and Draco turned his eyes to the other man.

"I do not know, honestly, I can search the library about information, but there is a chance that he will be born a werewolf, I just don't know how it works. I conferred with Poppy and she believes that the ingredients in the potion should not harm the child." Sirius looked at Remus with a hopeful look in his eye and Remus gave a small smile.

"I guess it's worth a shot," he said and Sirius grinned and pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you," Sirius said sincerely, looking at Draco and Draco looked back in surprise.

"It's not going to be easy," he pointed out, thinking of the notes in Severus' book, "it's your body's natural reaction now to change every month, and this potion will stop that. Your body is going to fight the potion every step of the way, you'll probably have to be in bed during that time."

"It won't harm the baby though?" Remus asked and Draco smiled.

"No, I don't believe it will," he replied.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Sirius asked as he pulled out his wand and spelled away the mess on the ground, "get brewing," he said before leading Remus out, Dumbledore following.

"Was there something else you needed?" Draco asked, looking at the remaining man who was staring at the cauldron that was lying on its side, a faraway look in his eyes.

"No," he said, looking at Draco sharply before he turned on his heel and left. Draco sighed and picked up the cauldron to start again.

* * *

Ta-da! What do you think? I made Cedric a horrible person and Sirius and Remus are now more on Draco's side, kinda. I'll try to update soon. Thank you for reading... if you made it this far.


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